Raynham Selectmen seek aerial spraying

The Board of Health and health agent strongly reasserted their support of aerial spraying to combat mosquito-born diseases in the wake of recent eastern equine encephalitis, or EEE, findings.

The three-person Board of Health, composed of the Raynham Board of Selectmen, made impassioned calls to the state administration Tuesday night to aggressively use aerial spraying of pesticides to kill mosquitoes that carry EEE in Southeastern Massachusetts. Selectmen listened to Raynham Health Agent David Flaherty, as he discussed recent findings of EEE in mosquitoes in Raynham, which he said caused the state to lift its risk level to “high” for Raynham and nearby communities.

Marc Larocque

The Board of Health and health agent strongly reasserted their support of aerial spraying to combat mosquito-born diseases in the wake of recent eastern equine encephalitis, or EEE, findings.

The three-person Board of Health, composed of the Raynham Board of Selectmen, made impassioned calls to the state administration Tuesday night to aggressively use aerial spraying of pesticides to kill mosquitoes that carry EEE in Southeastern Massachusetts. Selectmen listened to Raynham Health Agent David Flaherty, as he discussed recent findings of EEE in mosquitoes in Raynham, which he said caused the state to lift its risk level to “high” for Raynham and nearby communities.

“It’s a real problem,” Flaherty said. “We need the state to step up.”

Flaherty said that he believes the threshold for aerial spraying has been met under the state’s arbovirus, or mosquito-born virus, surveillance program, which was revised last year.

Flaherty said that the final determination of when to spray under the state guidelines appears to be “subjective,” but the burden of danger has been met.

Flaherty told the board that two recent mosquito samples collected in Raynham were positive for EEE — which causes brain swelling, neurological damage and death — and that more samples were positive for West Nile virus.

Flaherty said he is trying to work with health agents from surrounding communities, including a health agent from Bridgewater, to come together and demand aerial spraying.

In 2011, Raynham resident Martin Newfield died after contracting the EEE virus. In the wake of his death, residents and elected officials put pressure on the state to revisit its arbovirus surveillance plan. The Department of Public Health then put together a panel of experts and revised the protocol.

Following the most recent findings on Thursday, state health officials consulted a group of mosquito experts and discussed aerial spraying as one potential tool, according to state veterinarian Catherine Brown. Brown recently said that the board of experts advised against aerial spraying at this time, based on a variety of factors. She said that sporadic positive findings have not suggested a pattern, there isn’t much time left in the season for the virus to spread and weather conditions may not prove helpful.

“I think a lot of us would like an answer, a solution to EEE ... and I think in a lot of people’s minds, aerial spraying is that solution,” Brown said. “If it was the solution, there would be no hesitation.”

Raynham Selectman and Board of Health member Marie Smith said she believes concerns about the cost of spraying, coupled with lobbying by environmentalists, has stopped the state from taking action. Smith encouraged Flaherty to form a consortium of health agents from the area to pressure the state on the issue, as was done in the wake of Newfield’s death.

Making a reference to the town-supported Raynham Park slot application, Selectman Richard Schiavo said, “The state is gambling with people’s lives,” adding that, “This is the gambling we don’t like.”

Also during Tuesday night’s meeting, Town Planner John Charbonneau told the board that he and Raynham Police Chief James Donovan will be working together in the coming days on regulations for potential medical marijuana dispensaries that could set up shop in town. Charbonneau said that the aim is to have a set of zoning regulations ready for a vote during the fall Town Meeting.

During his weekly report, Town Administrator Randall Buckner said the Town Meeting is tentatively being scheduled for October 28, but the Selectmen took the scheduling matter under consideration.

Donovan also asked the Board to approve two new dispatch workers for the Raynham Police Department, after one dispatcher left and another one went on medical leave.